Federal Courts of Appeal

Why Circuit Courts?

The twelve United States Courts of Appeal are
traditionally known as "circuit courts". After the Supreme Court was
formed, it was expected that Supreme Court justices would travel around
the country twice a year visiting a "circuit" of courts in different
states. Unfortunately, travel was a slow and difficult process in the
late 18th century, and the Justices found it difficult to leave
Washington on a regular basis. Although Congress passed several laws
creating new courts, Supreme Court justices continued to ride the
circuit until 1891, when Congress created the Circuit Courts of Appeal.
In 1948, the official name was changed to United States Courts of
Appeal.

The concept of a judicial "circuit" still lives on
today. Each of the twelve Courts of Appeal covers its own individual
circuit. For example, the United States Court of Appeal for the Eleventh Circuit
handles cases from the states of Alabama, Florida, and Georgia. The
judges of the Eleventh Circuit hear most cases in the court's principal
office in Atlanta, Georgia. However, in keeping with the tradition of
the circuit court system, the Eleventh Circuit hears cases occasionally
in Jacksonville, Florida, Miami, Florida, and Montgomery, Alabama.

Circuit Court Structure

This map shows the boundaries of the twelve circuit
courts. Eleven circuit courts handle more than one state. The twelfth
circuit court is the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
Circuit, which meets in Washington, D.C. The map is accompanied by
alternative text -- available through a mouse-over for most users --
which shows the postal abbreviations for each state in each circuit, as
well as the city where the circuit court is headquartered.

Each circuit has a limited number
of judgeships, set by Congress. The First Circuit, made up of the
eastern New England states, has the fewest, with six circuit judges.
The Ninth Circuit, consisting of nine Western states, has the most, 28
circuit judges.

Role of the Circuit Courts

The circuit courts are intermediate appellate
courts. The circuit courts do not handle jury trials. They only handle
cases where a party argues that a district court judge made an error in
handling their case. For example, if a jury verdict goes against a
party, the party cannot directly appeal the verdict, because a jury
verdict is final. However, a party may base their appeal on a perceived
error by the judge -- in other words, the losing party may argue that
the judge approved improper jury instructions, or ruled that a vital
piece of evidence was inadmissible. Circuit courts review the work of
district court judges -- applying one of several "standards of review"
-- and issue decisions based on whether or not the lower court's
decision was right or not.

In order to decide the merits of an appeal, circuit
court judges rely on documents called "briefs". Each party to an appeal
submits a brief to the court which outlines the legal arguments at
issue. The circuit court judges review the briefs. In some cases, the
judges will issue a decision based on their review of the briefs. In
other cases, the judges will schedule an "oral argument" session, where
the attorneys for the parties argue the cases before the judges, and
give the judges the opportunity to ask questions about their arguments.

Initially, every case at the circuit court level is
handled by a panel of three judges. (Occasionally, a retired judge on
"senior status" or a district court judge will participate on a panel.)
Most decisions are issued by these panels. However, a party may ask for
a rehearing by a panel consisting of all the circuit court judges. This
sort of panel is known as an en banc panel.

Splits Among Circuit Courts

Frequently, situations will come up where one
circuit court panel rules differently from another panel in another
circuit on the same issue. Federal judges will generally rule the way
that a previous court ruled on the same issue, following a doctrine
known as stare decisis, a
Latin term meaning "to stand by a decision". However, the judges in one
circuit are not bound by rulings in another circuit. While an opinion
written by a circuit court may be helpful or instructive, judges in a
different circuit may choose to adopt a different approach in its
opinion.

Circuit courts also tend to split because of
geographical, political, or ideological differences. Different circuit
courts have, over the years, developed individual reputations. Many
commenters have argued that the Fourth Circuit, based in Richmond,
Virginia, tends to be more conservative than other circuit courts.
Other commenters have argued that the Ninth Circuit, based in San
Francisco, California, tends to be more liberal than other circuit
courts.

Splits among circuits are important because they
usually signal future Supreme Court decisions. Often, the Supreme Court
will move to resolve a split among the circuits, taking a case that
will resolve, once and for all, the point of contention.